Hey, so, while I appreciate your attempt to correct perceived misinformation on my post, you’re missing a piece of information - and therefore not actually correct because zoological facilities fall into a slightly irregular area of the law. Businesses are allowed to exclude service animals when their presence “fundamentally alters” business function or the services the business provides. As such, there are times at which it is appropriate for a zoological facility to exclude service animals from parts of the facility: it’s generally done when the health and welfare of the resident zoo animals is put at risk by the presence of the dog.
Under the text of the ADA, businesses are required to make “reasonable modifications” to accommodate individuals with a disability, unless doing so would fundementally alter the function of the business. Here’s the exact text from the law:
“A public entity shall make reasonable modifications in policies, practices, or procedures when the modifications are necessary to avoid discrimination on the basis of disability, unless the public entity can demonstrate that making the modifications would fundamentally alter the nature of the service, program, or activity. “
The “reasonable accommodation” requirement does extend to service animals, and when having a service animal in certain areas or on premises would result in a fundamental alteration of business function, the result is that the facility is allowed to exclude the service animal.
Here’s a direct quote from the US Department of Justice Civil Rights Division Website ADA FAQ about limiting access and what counts as a fundamental alteration under the law.
“Q25. When can service animals be excluded?
A. The ADA does not require covered entities to modify policies, practices, or procedures if it would “fundamentally alter” the nature of the goods, services, programs, or activities provided to the public. Nor does it overrule legitimate safety requirements. If admitting service animals would fundamentally alter the nature of a service or program, service animals may be prohibited. In addition, if a particular service animal is out of control and the handler does not take effective action to control it, or if it is not housebroken, that animal may be excluded.
Q26. When might a service dog’s presence fundamentally alter the nature of a service or program provided to the public?
A. In most settings, the presence of a service animal will not result in a fundamental alteration. However, there are some exceptions. For example, at a boarding school, service animals could be restricted from a specific area of a dormitory reserved specifically for students with allergies to dog dander. At a zoo, service animals can be restricted from areas where the animals on display are the natural prey or natural predators of dogs, where the presence of a dog would be disruptive, causing the displayed animals to behave aggressively or become agitated. They cannot be restricted from other areas of the zoo.”
Zoological facilities are such an exemplar of this issue that they’re literally included in the government FAQ. In addition to areas with predators, dogs are frequently excluded from walk-through aviaries to ensure the safety of the free-roaming animals, and are sometimes excluded from areas with highly flighty prey animals who might hurt themselves on a fence attempting to flee from the dog.
Here’s what the text of the ADA says about what happens when a facility excludes an animal from an area legally:
“If a public entity properly excludes a service animal under § 35.136(b), it shall give the individual with a disability the opportunity to participate in the service, program, or activity without having the service animal on the premises.”
So, basically, a zoo can say to someone “you can’t take your SD in there, sorry” but they must offer that person the choice to go to that area of the zoo without the animal. I promise you that major zoological institutions in the United States are not just shamelessly violating the ADA with regards to service animal uses. There is actually a fantastic consulting company, ActServices Inc., that consults with many US zoos to help them ensure ADA compliance both with regard to service animals and accessible facility design. I’ve encountered educational outreach by them at multiple national and international conferences over the years, both in the form of formal presentations and information outreach at exhibition hall booths.
You’re right about the fact that employees at zoological facilities in the United States can only ask the two legal questions and that animals may not be required to be vested when on grounds. The rest of my post was simply hoping to provide people with an idea of how to prepare for visiting a facility with their service animal, because it can add to the stress of a visit to not know what the procedures will be and I get a lot of questions about how to navigate things like shows / potty breaks. You are not in any way required to follow my recommendations - I wanted to provide a set of steps people could follow to get information to help prepare and be more comfortable on the day of their trip. However, it is entirely legal for zoos to exclude service animals from specific areas because the sheer presence of the service animal alters facility function by endangering the resident animals.
This post has been edited to include the exact text from the ADA addressing reasonable accommodation and fundamental alteration of purpose.
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